Wait For Me Once More
by Amyranth
Summary: Post Advent Children. Two months after Geostigma, when Tifa catches Cloud slipping away in the night to leave again, she gives him the ultimatum: stay or never come back. CloTi. Cloris. Oneshot.


**Author's Notes:**_ I recently watched "Advent Children" and I really loved the movie. The only thing was that there wasn't enough CloTi scenes. But there was enough substance for fanfiction writers to go on. So this one-shot is based is inspired by the movie. Anyway... enjoy! All hail CloTi!_**  
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**Disclaimer:**_ Final Fantasy VII Advent Children characters do not belong to me. (You think I'd be here if it did?) So don't sue, don't copy, just read, enjoy, and REVIEW!_

**Summary: **Post Advent Children. Slight Spoilers. Two months after Geostigma, when Tifa catches Cloud slipping away in the night to leave again, she gives him the ultimatum- stay or never come back. CloTi. Cloris.One-shot.

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**Wait For Me Once More**

The night was dark and silent; the moon covered by drifting masses of clouds. The artificial light of a street lamp shone throw a dusty window into a small tattered room above the bar, _7th Heaven_, falling onto a young man with blond spiky hair, resting on a chair with his head hung back.

Suddenly his eyes fluttered open, the bright colour of his mako-infused blue eyes shining through the darkness.

Cloud got up from the chair with a slowness that was beyond his years, as if his body ached with unseen pains. His movement, like a weary soldier, was brisk and stiff. Crossing the room, he shut the door slowly and quietly, not wanting to disturb the other inhabitants of the house. He strode through the corridor, and pushed at another door, so that it swung open to a small crack. Peering through the slit, he could not help but smile as he saw the inhabitants- two young children- sleep peacefully; the young boy rolled over in his bed and mumbled something incomprehensible before slipping back to dreamland. Cloud shut the door, yet this time he was unable to avoid a small squeak that the rusty hinges produced. He winced at the soft but distinctive sound, and waited with held breath for a few moments. Seeing that the noise had not provoked the children from their slumber, he progressed down a flight of old wooden stairs, this time, with great care.

His caution was awarded. Reaching the lower level safely without another disturbance, he allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief. Cloud was about to slip through the back door when he hear a small sigh. Spinning around, he noticed a silhouette standing in the back corner. The darkness of the night and the absence of any other light source meant that the figure was simply a dark shadow in the room, making it impossible to even tell whether the person was male or female.

Yet Cloud already knew who it was; he needed no light. "Tifa?"

The figure stepped out of the shadowy corner, and Cloud could just make out the outline of Tifa Lockheart, and thought he could see her chocolate brown eyes shine in the darkness.

"You were going to slip out again, weren't you?"

Her tone was not accusatory, but Cloud felt the bitterness behind her words.

Unable to lie or deny the fact, he nodded mutely, forgetting of course, that she could not see.

She seemed to take his silence as confirmation. Cloud heard her little sigh as she slipped quietly onto a chair, her knees seemingly unable to support her anymore. Cloud followed suite, drew out a bar stool and seated himself, waiting for her reproof of his actions, her anger at him for once again leaving her and her hurt at his betrayal of her trust.

But there was only silence.

And it was a few minutes- or perhaps several tedious hours, or maybe even a few dreary days- before she spoke. And her tone was so dead, so flat, so monotonic, that it was all he could do not to recoil at her words.

"I thought…" She began slowly, as if finding it hard to choose the correct words. "I thought, that after what happened two months ago, after Geostigma, and Kadaj and his brothers, that the burdens were lifted off your shoulders. That you could finally let go of the past, and maybe, start seeking a future."

"Tifa, I…" He felt a strong urge to explain himself, his actions. This he owed to her. Yet when she stared at him with her forlorn eyes, he found that the words died at the tip of his tongue, and he faltered, his shoulders drooping lamely.

"But maybe I was wrong," she whispered, continuing to stare at him, or maybe staring past him; he could not tell. "You seemed happy while you lived with us. Tell me one thing, Cloud." She leaned inwards, so close to him, that he could smell her mixed scent of alcohol and violets. "Were you happy?"

_Was he?_ Living with Tifa since the second Sephiroth incident, he had developed a new life. He continued his Strife Delivery Service, waking up before dawn every morning and returning well after dusk, dusty, sweaty, and tired, yet filled with a strange sense of completion, of fulfillment. That feeling was only heightened when he swung open the front door, and saw a smiling Tifa beside the warm dinner she had made specially for him, and the children laughing and welcoming their 'big brother' home. So yes, he realised, he _had_ been happy.

Tifa seemed to take his silence as hesitation. "It was all just a façade, wasn't it? Just to keep me and the children happy." Her tone was bitter and cynical.

"No," Cloud replied firmly. This much he could promise her. "I have been happy."

She gave a wry smile. "But it's not enough."

"Tifa, I feel that there is something out there that I have to seek, that I have to find before I can settle down."

Anger flashed in her eyes for a brief moment. "Aerith, right?" She gave a short, croaked laugh.

"Yeah…"

"Cloud, you can't keep doing this. You can't keep leaving me… _us_… all behind."

"I'm not leaving you behind!" Cloud couldn't help but raise his voice.

"You are," Tifa stated simply. Her voice turned soft. "Cloud, you won't find anything, because whatever it is that you're looking for- it's not there."

Cloud looked down to the ground. "Tifa, I thought that you of al people would understand. I need to do this for myself."

"I do understand," Tifa said, placing a hand on his arm, "But the children don't. How am I supposed to explain it to them? You can't keep slipping away quietly like this, and leaving me to deal with the aftermaths. Every time you leave to go on your little quests, the children feel like your abandoning them. They're young. They don't understand. They need something stable in their lives. You don't realise how much it breaks them to wake up one morning and realise that you've gone again- for god knows how many days."

"I'm sorry." It wasn't fair on Tifa that she had to deal with the trouble he had caused.

Tifa's eyes darted away to the ground and Cloud saw them glisten with tears. And when she spoke, though her voice was controlled, Cloud sensed the emotions that were on the verge of breaking.

"I feel like I'm losing you, Cloud."

"You're not."

"No, I am. Because even though Aerith is gone, she still has your heart." Tifa held out a hand to stop him from interrupting. "I know… I know that I can never replace her in your heart. But, I was hoping that we- you and I, and Denzel and Marlene- could be a family together."

"We are."

"No we're not. Not when you're always disappearing."

"Tifa, look, I'm sorry. But I can't help but feel like that there's something out there waiting for me. This is something Aerith would want-"

"Aerith, Aerith, Aerith, Aerith!" Tifa yelled, anger, frustration, fury blazing in her eyes as she leapt up from her chair. "Everything is about Aerith to you, Cloud. Don't I, don't the _children_ mean _anything_ to you at all?"

"Of course you do! You all mean the world to me!"

Tifa froze.

Her expression calmed, her shoulders slumped, and she sat back down. "I'm sorry, Cloud," she said after a moment. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just... It's just…" Her voice lowered to a little above a whisper and she avoided his gaze. "It's just that I feel so frustrated that even though Aerith is gone, she's still the world to you."

"Tifa…"

"I've always loved you Cloud," she whispered, keeping her eyes on the ground. He could definitely see tears sparkling now.

"I've always cared for you," she repeated. "From when we both lived in Nibelheim. But I would never admit it back then. And then you went away, and I thought that maybe we'd never see each other again. But then, somehow, we met again. And I thought to myself: I'll tell him this time; I won't let him slip away a second time. There were so many times when I could've, and now I wish I did tell you how I felt. But somehow, the words just never came out."

"And then, it was too late. There was Aerith."

"Tifa…"

She ignored him. "I watched the two of you, the way your eyes would sparkle whenever you spoke to her, or even when her name was mentioned. And I knew that it was too late. I was jealous, but I couldn't blame either of you. I was the one responsible; I had lost you a second time. But when Aerith died, I thought that maybe, just maybe, I had a chance. I tried Cloud, I tried so hard, and I'm still trying now, to make you accept me. Maybe as nothing more than someone who you can trust."

"I do trust you. You understand me the best."

She finally turned to face him, and there was regret, sadness, fear, anger, love, worry, all mingled in her soft dark eyes. "I've been with you, Cloud, since the beginning- Nibelheim, Sephiroth, Geostigma. And I'm still here now. Still waiting for you. Yet I'm losing to a memory."

Cloud wanted more than anything to be able to hold her, to comfort her, and to wipe away her tears. But something in his heart stopped him. The best he could do was hold her hands in his, and whisper, "You are important to me."

She gave a weak, feeble smile that did not meet her eyes. "I've always been waiting for you. I never really lost hope in you. Not really."

He did not know what to reply. She stared into his bright blue eyes, and her face darkened as realization dawned upon her.

She slid her hands out of his.

"You're still going to leave, aren't you?" Her voice, which till now, had been very controlled, was suddenly broken. Tears rolled down her cheeks. "Even though I am here for you, it's not enough, is it? A Tifa, alive, talking, walking, breathing, is not worth to you as much as a memory of Aerith? Even though I've been with you, and still am with you."

"I'm sorry Tifa," was all he could say. He cared for her, and part of him, maybe, even loved her. But like Tifa said, Aerith still had his heart.

She turned her back on him. "Go."

He couldn't leave her like this. Cloud moved forward, placing a careful hand on her shoulders. "Tifa, I will come back," he vowed.

She shrugged his hand away ferociously. "Go!" she shouted. Her shoulders trembled.

Cloud glanced one last time at her, before he turned away and walked towards the door.

"Cloud!"

He spun around to see Tifa facing him now.

"Cloud… Please…" She was almost begging now, and her eyes, though the room was dark, he could tell were bloodshot. But there were no more tears.

"Please…"

"Tifa. I need to do this. One last time. After that, I'll stop, stop hoping, or whatever. But this one time, I just have to try to find what I've been searching for these past two years."

She looked at him; there was something unreadable in her expression.

She walked up to him slowly, her footsteps heavy and echoing through the silent bar. "Cloud?" Her voice was soft. "I just want you to understand, that, that if you leave, I won't wait for you anymore. I love you… but I can't keep this up. I can't keep living this half life, hoping for you. If you leave tonight, there will be no Tifa waiting for you when you come back." She kept his gaze.

"So, if you take one step out of this bar tonight, know that you're not welcome back anymore."

Cloud's hands trembled. "Tifa, you can't be serious." But he could tell she was.

"It's your choice, Cloud."

Part of Cloud screamed for him to run to Tifa, and he almost gave in to the screaming voice in his head. But another part, a stronger part, kept his feet still. Steeling his mind, he spun around to face the door again. He took a step forward.

"CLOUD!"

Tifa's voice rang in his ears. He banished it from his mind. Another step. His footsteps echoed. Another step. His feet were heavy, like lead, and it took all his control to force them to inch forward. One more. His heart was ripping into two. And he was at the door.

_Wait for me Tifa_, Cloud thought as he stepped through the door and into the silent night, _this is the last time_. A gush of cold breeze met him. There were no more shouts from Tifa.

Wait for me once more.


End file.
